BERLIN, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- In order to protect airport from drones and keep air traffic undisrupted, Hamburg's airport will test how entering drones can be detected and stopped, the German Ministry of Transport (BMVI) announced on Tuesday.
The pilot project would include "all phases", starting with the detection and verification of an illegal drone, followed by the classification of the resulting hazard levels, up to the "final automated deployment of an intercept drone", according to BMVI.
The defense system named "Falcon" was subsidized with nearly 2.1 million euros (2.3 million U.S. dollars), according to the BMVI. Among others, the Helmut-Schmidt University of Hamburg, Federal Police and the German airline Lufthansa were involved in the project.
After successful tests, the drone defense concept can also be utilized as a "blue print" by other German airports in order to establish an "effective protection for commercial airports from illegal drones".
Back in May, all flight operations at the airport in Frankfurt were stopped for almost an hour after several pilots had spotted a drone. More than 130 take-offs and landings had been cancelled as a result of the drone sighting.
